


Covered in Berries and Gold

by Hapkido9061



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Autumn, Awkward Flirting, Baker Byun Baekhyun, Baker Do Kyungsoo | D.O, Baker Kim Jongdae, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Barista Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Falling In Love, First Meetings, Fluff, KaiSoo - Freeform, M/M, Mentioned Kim Junmyeon | Suho, Mentioned Oh Sehun, Pie, Pumpkin Spice, Romance, Too many descriptions of fall treats, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, apple orchard, chanbaek if you squint, lots of pie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-25 03:40:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22009384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hapkido9061/pseuds/Hapkido9061
Summary: Kyungsoo wants to fall in love, he really does, but the time never seems right. Between running his bakery and working at the apple orchard, Kyungsoo doesn't get much time to date.And the one time the perfect man shows up, he accidentally shoves a full piece of berry pie straight into has face.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai
Comments: 8
Kudos: 108
Collections: Round 3: Autumn and Winter - On the Snow





	Covered in Berries and Gold

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt Flake:** 218  
>  **Author's Note:** This is actually based on a real orchard that I worked at all through high school! Sadly I never found the true love of my life while dipping caramel apples... Thank you all for reading my cheesy little kaisoo piece and I hope it is a piece of sweetness in the cold winter <3

The first breath of apples mixed with the faint sharpness of cinnamon wakes Kyungsoo up from the last lingering clouds of sleep. Kyungsoo makes sure that the side door is unlocked for Jongdae and Baekhyun before slipping on an apron. It’s only 4 AM. If he is working a normal shift in the city, Kyungsoo would have already had two hours of work under his belt this morning.

He’s lucky that the local orchard chose him to run the bakery during the fall season. The orchard is far outside the city limits, nestled against a quaint little town where Kyungsoo rents a one story house for the season. While during the normal year, Kyungsoo runs his pastry shop on main street, he feels comfortable letting Junmyeon run it for a few months during the fall. And with him usually comes his employees Yixing, Jongdae, and Baekhyun. Both of the latter are a little loud, a little too much for Kyungsoo’s taste, but they do their job well.

Kyungsoo walks around to check on each of the ovens. After deeming them clean enough to use for the day, Kyungsoo flips them on to heat up. Three fresh crates of apples are by the door and Kyungsoo examines them with a practiced ease. Only a handful are bad enough to pitch in the garbage. The rest are shoved near the mixers for easy access.

The slam of the side door and immediate grumbling about the early hour let Kyungsoo know that Baekhyun has arrived.

“Why do I have to help you early? Why can’t you ever pick on Jongdae an’ make him come in?” Baekhyun huffs as Kyungsoo tosses him a clean apron.

“He’s not as good on the puff pastry for the turnovers or the pie crusts. You know that,” Kyungsoo quips. He searches the cabinets for where he placed the flour yesterday. It’s next to the sanding sugar and vanilla. Kyungsoo passes it to Baekhyun who already has found his other ingredients for the pastry crusts.

“But four AM?”

“It’s the weekend. More people equals more food.”

“You’re a psychopath.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Kyungsoo and Baekhyun fall into a silent routine. The early mornings are some of Kyungsoo’s favorite times to work with Baekhyun solely because his friend is too tired to fill the air with his normal chatter. Rather, the sound of electric mixers and random set timers take over for the silence.

The first thing Baekhyun tackles is the puff pastry crust that Kyungsoo complimented earlier. He folds it by hand to keep the right amount of air in the dough, sprinkling a bit more flour when the dough becomes too sticky. Kyungsoo takes on making as many pie crusts as he can for Jongdae to use later. He makes up a large batch of the crust dough and pats down four at a time.

Filling the crusts with pie weights and a last brushing of butter, Kyungsoo tosses the first round into the ovens. Baekhyun scoots by him with one of the crates of apples in arm. He peels them at a record speed with Kyungsoo coming by the help. The sticky juice gets in between their fingers and drips down onto their aprons.

When the crate is all peeled and Baekhyun begins to slice them for apple pie filling, Kyungsoo licks off his fingers.

“Go wash them, you nasty,” Baekhyun chides. Kyungsoo knows it’s more in jealously that he can’t do the same than anything else.

Jongdae joins the duo around two hours later, dragging Minseok in behind him to open up the connected coffeeshop. While the orchard yard won’t open until 8 AM for customers, all of the employees have to get their stations ready.

As Jongdae takes over for him in the back of the bakery, Kyungsoo moves up front to take over dipping some fresh caramel apples. He finished most of the plain ones yesterday but Kyungsoo loves adding fresh specialty ones to the case for kids to choose from. The first ones are covered in a mix of caramel and chocolate with pieces of peanut butter cups sprinkled over the top. Next comes Kyungsoo’s favorite of caramel and toffee pieces. The sticky caramel always contrasts well with the soft juices of the green apples. He moves onto dipping the apples in pristine white chocolate and tossing on colored sugar sprinkles.

Jongdae comes out of the back with the first pan of completed pastries for the day. Flour and icing are splattered in his hair, giving him streaks of white throughout his black hair. Kyungsoo holds back a smile as Minseok laughs out loud at the sight. Jongdae flips them off once the tray is settled and he retreats back into the kitchen. He brings a tray of apple cider donuts and sets it beside the other. Once Kyungsoo is finished with dipping the set of apples he placed out, he unloads the loaded trays that Jongdae continues to bring into the display case.

On the top shelf goes only the donuts, made with apple cider straight from the orchard itself. Kyungsoo wants to lick the soft sugar sprinkled over the cakey sweet but holds himself back from doing so. He pulls on plastic gloves to handle the rest of the pastries by hand.

Baekhyun also brings him up the first round of pie that had finally finished baking around the same time as the other pastries. The pies are still warm, fogging up the glass as Kyungsoo settles them into their specific trays in the case.

Pumpkin pie with the filling cooked a light golden brown without cracking on the surface and triple berry pie with its juices spilling ever so slightly out of its vent cuts and cherry pie so tart that it fills Kyungsoo’s nose from only putting it in the case. Kyungsoo turns to grab the two types of apple pie to put on the next rack down. One has a crumble top over it’s filling of brown sugar and oatmeal while the second type is a more traditional double crusted apple pie. Neither is Kyungsoo’s favorite (that’s reserved for the berry pie- taken right from his mother’s recipe chest) but he can feel himself drooling at the thought of digging into any one of the pies in front of him.

Rather than focusing on the pies anymore, Kyungsoo moves onto the single pastries. Slices of apple crisp that were made in large pans in the back were cut and plated to be put away. Baekhyun’s famous apple turnovers came next, drizzled in a light royal icing that did nothing to hide the sweet mix of apple and cinnamon leaking from the edges of the pastry. Kyungsoo finishes with putting away the apple pastries. All of the fillings of apple were made with the apples straight from the orchard, giving each one a fresher taste.

The last sweet to put away are the pumpkin rolls. With a cream cheese filling, the rolls are in slices that show off their perfect swirls. Kyungsoo holds one slice back as he closes the case. He wipes down the area where the trays sat before heading over to Minseok’s area. Really, it’s nothing more than a little offshoot in the large building inside. The huge building, not far from the feeling of a large garage, has a general store of orchard products, the bakery, a little café, and a seating area all squished together in one area.

Minseok still makes it feel like a five star coffeeshop.

He pushes the pumpkin roll out to Minseok who gives him a small smile in return. Minseok wipes his hands off on a white rag on his shoulder.

“Jongdae already got these baked, huh?” Minseok jokes as he grabs a fork to take a bite. Everything else on the counters is clean and ready for opening. “Last time he forgot until people were already arriving that he had to bake them.”

Kyungsoo snorts lightly. “I really shouldn’t trust him when he comes in and says he only got three hours of sleep the night before. We wind up with no pumpkin rolls and a passed out Jongdae.”

“I don’t want to deal with either of those ever again.”

As Minseok scrunches up his face, he shovels one last bite of the pumpkin roll into his mouth. He grinds a bit of the espresso beans and starts brewing up a few things of coffee. Kyungsoo savors the smell (and the fact that the first few shots of espresso to warm up the machine are used for coffees for the other workers).

He passes a fresh caramel latte over to Kyungsoo. At the smell of espresso, Baekhyun has wandered out of the bakery in search of his. He makes grabby hands at Minseok who teases him by taking a sip out of his.

“How dare you!” Baekhyun whines, snatching the latte when Minseok finally offers it out to him.

Minseok smacks his lips together, sticking his tongue out. “I don’t know how you can even drink that. It’s all sugar and no coffee!”

“The autumn latte with double pumps of cinnamon and caramel and vanilla syrup is the greatest drink you have ever invented, thank you very much!” Baekhyun retorts. He goes back to the ovens, tripping over a half open bag of flour on the way.

There’s only one left and Kyungsoo knows it’s for Jongdae. Sehun should be in later to make his own coffee and Yixing’s shift starts after they open. Minseok abandons his post to chat with Jongdae for a bit and Kyungsoo realizes he has to finish up preparing for the day before he can relax for a short while.

Kyungsoo fills up the slushy machine with their homemade apple cider for a frozen treat that the kids love. He personally thinks it’s too sugary, but the parents don’t need to know how much natural sugar comes from apples anyways.

With Minseok in tow, Jongdae comes wandering out with the last pastry tray to be out on display. His famous apple dumplings are piping hot still on the tray. Minseok hops up onto a barstool behind the counter as he watches Kyungsoo and Jongdae put them away together.

“Y’know Soo, it’s official. I think you need a boyfriend. Someone has to enjoy your cooking every day without paying for it!”

Jongdae snorts. “He doesn’t think anyone’s worthy of it!”

“You say that and then they leave me after one bad meal,” Kyungsoo retorts. Minseok and Jongdae smile in the memory of the ex Kyungsoo did that did just that. On the third date, too.

“Maybe someone who eats constantly and doesn’t care if it’s bad or not. Like a soccer player, or dancer, or a gamer who sits at his computer all day.”

“Two out of those three sound acceptable. Only two.”

“Didn’t know you weren’t into soccer players, Soo,” Jongdae jabs with a Cheshire grin. Kyungsoo kicks him lightly in the butt to get him moving back towards the bakery. He knows that Jongdae has more things to finish that _aren’t_ teasing Kyungsoo over his lack of love. Jongdae goes slowly, turning back around every few steps to add in a remark he forgot to say earlier. Eventually, Minseok chases him with the dirty dish rag from the coffeeshop sink to get him to start working.

He comes back victorious. Kyungsoo offers a thanks to Minseok who waves it off, claiming it’s ‘all in a day’s work.’

The back-door’s bell jingles as it cracks open. Yixing pokes his head in before stepping in all the way. Kyungsoo waves him good morning. The Chinese man stuffs his coat and bag into a cubby in the back while Kyungsoo waits. He comes back out with his cheeks turning red from the warmth of the bakery contrasting with the chill of the outdoor air.

“How’re you doing?”

Yixing sniffs, rubbing his knuckles to chase the cold out of them. He always has run cold, preferring the heat of summer to fall and winter. Kyungsoo fixes the corner of his apron that ended up tucked into his collar.

“Chilly. It looks like it will be sunny today though. You?”

“Not bad. Started early this morning and can already feel it,” Kyungsoo complains. “And I’m being chastised for my lack of love life. Help me.”

He glances up and catches the sight of Minseok ducking his head back into the coffeeshop and Kyungsoo has to hold back and eye roll. Surely he was listening in to hear if he spilled anything to Yixing instead of him. Yixing doesn’t hold much sympathy for Kyungsoo’s pout.

“You hired them. You deal with it!”

Yixing giggles as he dodges Kyungsoo’s fury. The baker leaves it be and goes back to finishing up the final details for the morning. All is in place within minutes and Kyungsoo pauses to catch his breath as the first few orchard goers trickle in. The bakery and coffeeshop are the first thing they see; the over indulgent parents always stop by to get their caffeine fix from Minseok or a sugar rush from Kyungsoo.

All goes well for the first few hours. Baekhyun has a mishap where he spills an entire jug of apple cider behind the counter but one glare from Kyungsoo has him mopping it up almost immediately. With a final check that Baekhyun is truly mopping it up and not just pushing the liquid around on the floor, Kyungsoo moves onto the next customer.

His normal work smile slips for a brief second as his eyes catch up with what he is seeing in front of him. It’s not that his heart stops or all the words leave his tongue the moment they make eye contact. No, it’s like Kyungsoo has finally seen the face he’s been searching for his entire life.

“What would you like today?” Kyungsoo asks, his voice just a touch softer than normal. The sun kissed man peeks at the case of pastries one more time.

“A slice of pie please.”

“Flavor?”

“Whatever the chef thinks is best,” the man responds with a cheeky smile. Baekhyun sneaks away for a moment to the back of the bakery without drawing much attention. Kyungsoo pauses and wonders how he knows that he is one of the bakers before remembering he never took off his apron for the day. Kyungsoo tries his best to fight the blush rising on his face.

“Triple berry it is then. One of my favorites,” Kyungsoo says reaches into the case. He picks out the nicest looking piece he can from the options. “For here or do you want it packaged?”

“We’ll just eat it in here,” the man tells him as he checks over his shoulder at the few empty tables scattered here and there. Kyungsoo nods and plates it nicely before passing it over. He makes to hand the pie to the man.

But Baekhyun isn’t done mopping.

And he forgot to tell Kyungsoo that.

Kyungsoo’s foot steps into a rogue puddle of water and when he tries to stand on it, his entire body is propelled forward. The one free hand he has catches most of his weight, but not enough of it. Kyungsoo’s other hand launches forward towards the man’s face (whom he just now is realizing is reaching to help keep him from slipping any further).

For a few seconds everything is in slow motion. Kyungsoo is glad there’s no other customers waiting in line that witnessed his embarrassing moment. Just the one attractive man he rammed a piece of pie into is enough.

His face is covered in the sweet filling that now resembles comically purple blood dripping down over his shirt. The man’s eyes blink as he registers what just happened and the sheer amount of berry coating his face.

“I’m so sorry, oh my god! Here let me get you another piece,” Kyungsoo stutters out, reaching to grab another piece of berry pie. As the man wipes most of the pie off his face and shirt- which Kyungsoo is mortified to notice is a pale blue and makes the stains all very noticeable- Kyungsoo plates the piece. He shoves it towards him with a mumble of ‘it’s on the house’ before disappearing into the back of the bakery.

He barely misses the man calling out for him to wait and come back, but Kyungsoo is too mortified to. He all but shoves Jongdae up front from the bakery area to keep watch of the counter.

Yixing is the only other one lounging in the employee break room when Kyungsoo slinks in.

“What’s your problem?”

Kyungsoo slams his face down into the folding table. He mutters something that Yixing can’t catch. The Chinese man taps on Kyungsoo on the shoulder to get him to enunciate.

“I slammed a piece of pie into the cutest boy’s face. I could’ve… ugh! Stupid Baekhyun never finishing anything and his mopping skills.”

Yixing laughs at the disgruntled look on Kyungsoo’s face. “I only understood maybe half of that. Elaborate?”

“I don’t want to relive it!”

Yixing doesn’t so much as try to hold back the laughter bubbling up in his chest. Kyungsoo fills him in on enough of what embarrassment he just put himself through for Yixing to get the general story.

“Every chance at _something_ , I ruin.”

“I wouldn’t say that!” Kyungsoo side eyes Yixing. “Well, mostly I wouldn’t say that.”

Yixing finishes off the last bit of water from his water bottle. He sets it back near his backpack before telling Kyungsoo to take another few minutes and that he will man the register alone for a short spell. They don’t want to scare off customers with Kyungsoo’s upset mood. It is the afternoon lull, after all, and not too many people will be coming in.

Kyungsoo agrees to the plan.

Once Yixing is out of the room, Kyungsoo slumps back down in the folding chair. He tries his best to regain his bearings; things this embarrassing don’t happen nearly as often as sitcoms would suggest. Kyungsoo wipes the seat from his brow with his apron as he stands to meet Yixing up front. He passes by Minseok on the way out who pats his shoulder sympathetically. The barista must have seen the whole thing transpire without saying a word.

Kyungsoo finds Jongdae and Yixing creating a tower with the extra paper sample cups for the apple cider. He jerks his head back to the bakery when he makes eye contact with Jongdae. Jongdae makes his way back to the ovens in a flash. He hates working with customers and would much rather prefer to hide in the back.

“Any trouble?”

Yixing shakes his head as he leans back on the counter with Kyungsoo. “None. A handful of people but nothing we couldn’t handle.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t feel as bad leaving the counter in a hurry then. He pulls one of the sample cups from the tower and pours himself a shot of apple cider. The stuff is stronger than most of the folks coming in would think. Pure apple with hints of cinnamon and spices really packed a punch. Kyungsoo finishes it off as he looks around the dining area. There’s a few couples here and there, but mostly families fill the tables. He smiles as he makes eye contact with a little boy jumping around on the floor trying to avoid touching any of the cracks. The boy giggles before running back to his family. Kyungsoo looks to see who’s kid he is and his face falls when he sees who.

The tanned man from before is sitting with a woman equally as beautiful and a little girl is perched on her chair scarfing down the last bit of a pumpkin roll. Kyungsoo’s gaze zones in on the blue and purple stain marring the front of the pristine shirt. Sure he still feels mortified, but at least now he knows he had no chance. With a cute family like that, there’s no way the man is available.

Kyungsoo sighs into his hand. The woman takes the last bite of her pie (it’s the berry one, Kyungsoo notices with a slightly bitter taste in his mouth). She says something Kyungsoo can’t make out to her husband before flickering her eyes in his direction. The man’s face lights up as he turns his head as well to find Kyungsoo back at the counter. Great. Now there’s no chance for a clean escape.

The little boy reaches his arms up at the sight of the man standing. Without struggling even the slightest bit, he plops the boy up on his shoulders. In the background, the little girl and woman have started out to the actual farmyard of the orchard. Kyungsoo is impressed at the display of strength. When he arrives back at the counter, Kyungsoo has to bite his tongue from saying anything embarrassing. Again.

“Hey.”

“Hi… um, did you need anything?” Kyungsoo finishes dumbly. The man laughs, swaying a bit to keep the boy on his shoulders.

“My sister absolutely loved your pie. I was wondering if you could hold back a piece for us to pick up on the way out?” he asks, trailing off near the end. “If you can’t that’s no problem either! I don’t want to trouble you.”

“Sister?”

The man’s face scrunches up in cute confusion. “Yeah? Oh, see! This little man’s my nephew!” At the sound of him being referred to, the boy giggles and grips tightly onto the tanned man’s hair. Kyungsoo smiles at the sight. Maybe his hopes aren’t as crushed as he previously thought.

“It’s no problem. If she likes it so much, we have full pies over in the little store area,” Kyungsoo says before he actually pulls a slice of pie out of the case. “They’re cheaper for the amount too.”

His face lights up at Kyungsoo’s suggestion. “I’ll go look!”

He doesn’t even wait for Kyungsoo to answer. Kyungsoo can already tell his personality is spur of the moment and flighty (not that that is his ideal type or anything). But Kyungsoo barely has a chance to look at the pastries left before the man is bounding back to the register.

“They’re all out! Could you just hold the slice for me then?” he finishes with a slight pout. Kyungsoo pauses, holding his finger up to have the man wait now. He peeks his head around the corner, finding Baekhyun and Jongdae working on the last of the treats for the day. Kyungsoo waves Baekhyun over.

“Do we have anymore of the berry pies?”

“The triple berry? Not cherry or anything?” Kyungsoo nods. Baekhyun opens two of the ovens, peeking into each of them. “We’ve got one baking now but that’s it for the day. Why? Do we need another?”

Kyungsoo clicks his fingernails against the wall in thought. Baekhyun and Jongdae are both covered head to toe in flour and spices. Even when Baekhyun walked over, Kyungsoo could smell the amount of ingredients coating his clothes. But at the same time, they looked exhausted from working the weekend.

“Nah, just leave that one out to cool when it’s done. Don’t cut into it or anything,” Kyungsoo instructs.

“Any particular reason?”

Kyungsoo knows Baekhyun doesn’t pick up on the blush that comes to dust his cheeks. “There’s someone who wants to buy it but we’re out. Also I kinda spilled some pie on him earlier today so I feel bad. Keep it back here and if he comes back later today, just give it to him. Free of charge.”

Baekhyun makes the okay symbol with his hand. Kyungsoo comes back out to find the man pointing out all of the different pastries left in the case to his nephew.

“Come on back before you leave and we’ll get you the berry pie. Don’t worry.”

“Really? That’s too kind! Thank you so much!”

The man seems genuinely excited for the pie. Kyungsoo suddenly remembers that this is why he started baking. To see how much joy that a simple treat can bring people or how it can bring those same people closer together over a shared fondness for taste. Kyungsoo gives the man a soft smile, waving at his little nephew as they step out to find the rest of their family.

As the day finishes out, Kyungsoo is a little bummed that the men hasn’t stopped back by the bakery yet. He had been wanting to be the person to give them the pie if they did come back (and maybe, just maybe, work up the nerve to ask for his number). But Baekhyun is shoving him out from behind the counter to go on his dinner break.

No matter the protests that fall from Kyungsoo’s mouth, Baekhyun is refusing to hear any of it.

“At least go keep Chanyeol company or something. I know he’s been driving the tractor out to the groves and fields all day and he’s on break now. He texted me. I already took mine earlier and there’s too much left to clean,” Baekhyun adds with a slight pout.

“But that would require me going outside. That’s so much work,” Kyungsoo retorts, trying his hardest not to give immediately into Baekhyun’s pouting face. A long drawn out sigh falls from Baekhyun’s lips and Kyungsoo’s façade cracks.

“Not as much work as washing dishes coated in burnt sugar.”

“Fine. But not more than twenty minutes.”

“Great!” Baekhyun cheers. “Here. Take this out to Yeol, he’s probably hungry.” Baekhyun passes him over a premade lunch, mostly filled with reject donuts and the ‘ugly’ pastries from the day.

“What, and I get nothing?” Kyungsoo teases, enjoying the blush that grows on the other’s cheeks.

“Nope. You can have your own,” Baekhyun says as he tosses Kyungsoo his own lunch box. Kyungsoo smiles in defeat. He nudges Baekhyun back to man the register and picks up his keycard to get past the people working admissions. Poor Minseok looks dead on his feet in the coffeeshop when Kyungsoo goes past.

He stops by, waiting until the barista is done with his current customer.

“Is Sehun a no show?”

Minseok fights back a groan. “He called in sick. The poor kid sounded miserable, but no one else was available to cover. I’ve barely had five minutes to run to the bathroom since this morning.”

Kyungsoo tells him he can snag Jongdae from back to help if need be. There shouldn’t be much left to do but washing dishes anyways. Minseok looks grateful at the extra help Kyungsoo let him have.

Kyungsoo gets past the admission employees and walks down the gravel path to the tractor pick up area. He spots Chanyeol talking with another one of their drivers. When he sees Kyungsoo leaning against the barnwood fence, he claps the other driver on the shoulder and jogs over to Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol’s face is coated in gravel dust from the dry paths out to the various activites. The more Kyungsoo looks, the more he sees that it’s actually from head to toe that he’s covered in the dust and dirt. Chanyeol’s jeans and boots are the only things that look decent with the dust coating them. He holds back a chuckle at the way his friend drags his feet.

“That long of a day?”

“You wouldn’t believe. I hardly got a break for lunch,” Chanyeol complains, kicking a rock down the path. they move to the side to let a family with a stroller through to the little kids’ hay maze. “Half of our guys called in sick. You?”

“Everyone came in today, luckily,” Kyungsoo says. “Baek, Jongdae, and Yixing all made it. Minseok is stretched thin right now. Sehun called in with no replacement lined up so he’s be working the coffeeshop alone.”

Chanyeol whistles, wiping the last few beads of sweat from his brow as he looks out to the sunflower fields on the far hill. “That sucks. Everyone is overworked and underpaid… Weekends are the worst.”

Kyungsoo hums in agreement. The two continue walking in silence out towards the benches that none of the families ever use. Chanyeol groans as they reach it, sitting down and stretching his long legs out. Kyungsoo isn’t sure which is worse: being stuck working on your feet all day or being cramped into a little box and having to drive for hours on end.

He settles in across from Chanyeol and passes the lunchbox across the weathered wood. “Here.”

An excited whoop leaves Chanyeol as he snatches up the box and rips it open. The first bite of squished apple cider donut has him moaning with delight. Kyungsoo scrunches his nose up at the sheer speed Chanyeol downs half of the food.

“Anything fun happen today in the bakery?” Chanyeol asks as his mouth is half full of a peanut butter sandwich.

At first, Kyungsoo tries to hold back his story. But he can’t. It’s too embarrassing, too filled with what-if’s from the attractive man. And Chanyeol is one of his closest friends; he might have some semblance of sympathy hidden deep down with the slue of jokes yet to come.

The embarrassment falls from Kyungsoo’s mouth as fast as it happened.

“There was this really cute guy that came in with his family. At first, I thought maybe he’s already married, but luckily, it’s just his sister and niece and nephew so I had a chance! I did!” Kyungsoo starts. Chanyeol finishes off the sandwich and sits waiting for the rest of the rambling story. “He came up and ordered a piece of pie and when I asked which flavor, he just said for the chef to pick. But obviously he knew it was me, it seemed like at least. And I told him that berry was my favorite and I went to get him a piece. But your stupid little Baekhyun… ugh! He was mopping earlier but took a break mid-mop and left some of the water out on the floor. So of course I slip on it! And of course I slam the freaking berry pie onto this guy’s face. And his perfect baby blue button down shirt on his perfect chiseled chest!”

Chanyeol is full on cackling by the time Kyungsoo reaches this part of his story. “Oh my God, Kyung!”

“And then he plays it off like it’s all fine and there’s no problem even though everyone knows that berry never comes out of clothes! And so I hid in the back with Yixing and when I went back out to the register he came back up and asked for a full pie of that berry flavor but there weren’t any left out front and maybe I had Jongdae and Baekhyun hold back the final one that was done cooking just for him since he was so cute and good with those kids…”

Kyungsoo finishes his ranting story with a soft voice. The thought of the handsome man being good with kids is too much for his gentle heart.

“Damn. You’re never this worked up about anything, or anyone…” Chanyeol says. “I don’t know how I can help you on this one. If he comes back for the pie, ask for his number. Tell him you think he’s cute or it’s fate or whatever secretly romantic thought are shooting through your head. If he doesn’t, oh well. Lost chance.”

It isn’t exactly what Kyungsoo wants to hear, but at the same time, he isn’t sure what he _does_ want Chanyeol to tell him. This isn’t a common situation for Kyungsoo to find himself in. Chanyeol notices his internal commentary running full speed so he lays a hand on the baker’s shoulder.

“You saw this guy for what, two minutes, and you’re this enamored?”

“Yeah, yeah I am.”

“Then for what it’s worth, shoot your shot. Worst the guy could do is say no and then you know it wasn’t meant to be. Don’t think too hard over this.”

Kyungsoo clicks his tongue as he starts coming up with dialogues that he could have with the man. There aren’t many that don’t come off as creepy. Chanyeol downs the last piece of cake that Baekhyun packed for him and dusted off his pants. They both still have a job to do no matter how much Kyungsoo wants to sit and think. This break has already dragged on longer than it should have, over thirty minutes. Chanyeol helps him to stand.

They wander the long way back to Chanyeol’s post. The evening is winding down, only a little more than two hours are left for the orchard to be open. By now, the bakery would be closing as they usually ended the work day earlier. No one is above Kyungsoo to tell him not to.

He might stay behind in case the tanned man drops by, however.

Kyungsoo waves to Chanyeol as he hops back on the only unmanned tractor. He takes the long way back to the entrance of the bakery and café area. Past the pool of corn where kids can play and the apple slingshot, Kyungsoo decides that maybe he should say something. He only hopes that he isn’t too late and the man hasn’t left.

“Has he stopped by?” Kyungsoo asks Baekhyun first thing when he gets inside. Baekhyun stares at him wide-eyed.

“Who?”

“The guy who wanted the pie! The one I told you about,” Kyungsoo says. Maybe he hasn’t if Baekhyun didn’t know about it.

But Jongdae pokes his head up from inside the coffeeshop. Minseok is furiously scrubbing at some stain left on the counter behind him. “The one with the pie stain you oh so graciously left?” Jongdae tries to hold back a smile as Kyungsoo’s face flushes. “Yeah, he got the pie already. The lady with him was even more excited if you can believe that!”

He tries to fight back a smile with how nonchalant Kyungsoo tries to act about missing the man. Maybe it isn’t meant to be.

“He left this for you.”

“What?”

Kyungsoo perks up when Jongdae rifles through the storage area under the espresso machine. Minseok slaps the back of his head when he starts throwing stuff out of the way to find what he’s looking for. He comes back up on the other side of the counter. Jongdae passes a familiar in the orchard sight across to Kyungsoo.

The baker feels each of the hearty sunflower blooms with a careful hand. Each has a bright yellow outside with the petals fading down to a deep purple at the center. He runs his thumb over the seeds packed in the center. The dented metal bucket that the dozen or so of flowers are stuffed into are indicative of them being picked at the orchard just today. Kyungsoo gets in close to see if the sunflowers have any scent.

“He dropped them off the same time he bought the pie,” Jongdae explains. “He told me to give them to you with this.”

Jongdae passes him over a handwritten note, scribbled on the back of a paper menu from his own bakery. Kyungsoo stops his inspection of the sunflowers to read the note in hand. When he glances it over, the first thing he notices is the phone number scrawled last minute at the bottom.

His heart bursts.

_Hey there! I don’t know what all I should write but I think you’re cute and your smile reminded me of these sunflowers. The least I can hope for now is that we bat for the same team. Your coworker said you do (he wouldn’t lie about that, right?)_

_Would you want to go on a date? I would wear a shirt without this berry stain if you agree…_

_Jongin_

_555-XXX-XXX_

_P.S. You are berry cute <3_


End file.
